Golden Ratio in Art

The golden ratio is said to be aesthetically pleasing. A golden rectangle is said to be more beautiful then any other rectangle and some of the greatest structures have golden ratios. The spheres Plato used to ecompase the heavens have used the golden ratio. (Dunlap 1997) It is not surprising then that several artists and architects have used the golden ratio in their works. This page will examine a few of these great works

One of the most famous building in the world is the Parthenon found in Athens Greece. This historic structure was designed by Phineas (whom φ was named after) and appears to contain several golden rectangles. This can be seen in the following picture.

Another famous example in architecture are the Great Pyramid of Giza The pyramid seems to built using a golden triangle. No proof is shown that the Egyptians really had any idea of what the golden ratio was. It may have been a coincidence.

Ok let's move on from Architecture. The most prevalent form of artwork containing the golden section is in the realm of painting. Some of the greatest painters, Da Vinci, Micahelangelo, Rembrant, and Dali have the golen ratio somewhere in their paintings. Take a look at what is probably the most recognizable painting on Earth the Mona Lisa

You can see that the painting contains several golden rectangles. If you click on the link you can also see golden ratio with her facial features. Da Vince also used the golden ratio in his The Vetruvian Man and in his illustrations in the De Divina Proportione .

Raphael used a golden triangle and pentagram in his paint Cruxifiction

and Dali purposely constructed his The Sacrament of the Last Supper using the golden ratio.

Use the following applet to examine the golden ratios in this painting yourself. Examine The Sacrament of the Last Supper

To see more artwork check out the following site Art

(Obara,2000)